AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Travel Media Awards 2018

The winners of the Travel Media Awards 2018 were announced on Wednesday 17 October at a sparkling ceremony at ME London Hotel. 326 people were present to see the best of the UK travel media honoured with an Award, including representatives of some of the UK’s leading travel media and industry organisations.

The evening saw 20 publications, broadcasters, journalists and photographers awarded prestigious trophies. They included Lisa Minot, Travel Editor of The Sun, who was presented with the Special Contribution Award.

The Travel Media Awards were created in recognition of the hugely influential role that today’s travel media play. Submissions were judged by some of the UK’s most influential travel industry figures alongside leading travel writers and editors. Categories covered a wide range of disciplines and media, from consumer travel magazines (both national and regional) to travel trade titles and guide books.

BREAKING TRAVEL NEWSGreg Dickinson for ‘Self-boarding is here — but do you feel safe getting on a plane without any human checks?’ for The Telegraph
James Draven for ‘Tourism in Antarctica: what does it mean for the world’s last great wilderness?’ for National Geographic Traveller
Nada Farhoud for ‘Ryanair’s dirty tricks’ for Daily Mirror
Guy Hobbs for ‘Grand theft auto’ for Which? TravelJo Rhodes for ‘Hurry! Sale won’t end soon’ for Which? Travel

BROADCAST PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR – TV, RADIO, ONLINE
Colt St George for ‘5 reasons you need to visit Islay’ for Rough Guides
Juliet Rix for ‘From our own correspondent – Nunavut’ for BBC Radio 4
Dawn Lake and Joanne Whalley for ‘Seeing the world without sight’ for BBC Travel Show
Phoebe Smith for ‘From our own correspondent – Vultures in Nepal’ for BBC Radio 4
Shafik Meghiji for ‘The Rough Guide to Everywhere’ for Rough Guides

NATIONAL BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER SECTION OF THE YEARiThe Telegraph The Guardian The Sunday Telegraph The Sunday Times

NATIONAL CONSUMER FEATURE OF THE YEARJamie Lafferty for ‘Papua New Guinea: Behind the mask’ for National Geographic Traveller
Jon Holmes for ‘A bicycle made for brews’ for The Sunday Times
Michelle Jana Chan for ‘Primal green’ for Vanity Fair
Phoebe Smith for ‘Eastern promise’ for Wanderlust
Stephen Bleach for ‘High stakes’ for The Sunday Times

NATIONAL TABLOID NEWSPAPER SECTION OF THE YEARDaily MailDaily MirrorMetroSunday MirrorMail on SundayThe Sun

PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD
Alex Robinson for ‘Peace time’ for The Sunday TimesEwen Bell for ‘Shetland Islands’ for National Geographic TravellerJonathan Gregson for ‘Across Patagonia’ for Lonely Planet TravellerKris Davidson for ‘Californian Deserts’ for National Geographic TravellerTom Parker for ‘Silver Linings’ for Condé Nast Traveller

REGIONAL PUBLICATION FEATURE OF THE YEAR
Cathy Adams for ‘Hit the road in laid-back Taiwan’ for Evening StandardIan Belcher for ‘Horse power’ for BrummellJonathan Thompson for ‘Make mine a Scottish mini break’ for MetroRichard Mellor for ‘Welcome to the country that doesn’t exist’ for MetroSue Watt for ‘Why you should visit Sierra Leone to experience the world’s most worthwhile marathon’ for Evening Standard

TRADE FEATURE OF THE YEAR
Daniel Allen for ‘Mother of rivers’ for Cruise AdviserLarry Pryce for ‘And all that jazz’ for TTGMike Unwin for ‘Lviv a little’ for Other ShoresPippa Jacks for ‘Tales from Tanzania’ for TTGSam Ballard for ‘Generation game’ for Cruise Adviser

All of the categories within the 2018 Travel Media Awards were judged by a panel of travel industry leaders, combined with members of the travel media, providing for a unique assessment of entries, leading to only the very best in class winning a coveted “Media Awards Trophy”.

In total more than 50 judges from some of the leading travel businesses and travel media judged the 2018 awards. Over 25% of travel industry judges were new to the Awards this year, while no judge who took part in the 2017 Awards judged the same category again in 2018.

Debbie Hindle is the managing director of Four Travel, the UK’s leading travel marketing and public relations communications agency. She has been listed as one of the top 100 most influential women in leisure and hospitality.

Maria Pieri is the Editorial Director for APL Media, a specialist travel and lifestyle content media provider, whose titles include the flagship title National Geographic Traveller (UK) and ABTA Magazine.